1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
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3 SENATE BILL 167 By: Dossett (J.A.)
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to parole; amending Section 3,
7 Chapter 117, O.S.L. 2018 (57 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
8 332.21), which relates to the power to parole certain
8 prisoners; modifying eligible offenders; and
9 providing an effective date.
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12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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13 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY Section 3, Chapter 117, O.S.L.
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14 2018 (57 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 332.21), is amended to read as
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15 follows:
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16 Section 332.21. A. The Pardon and Parole Board is empowered to
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17 parole a prisoner who:
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18 1. Is sixty (60) Fifty-five (55) years of age or older;
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19 2. Has served, in actual custody, the shorter of ten (10) years
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20 of the term or terms of imprisonment, or one-third (1/3) of the
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21 total term or terms of imprisonment;
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22 3. Poses minimal public safety risks warranting continued
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23 imprisonment;
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 1 4. Is not imprisoned for a crime enumerated in Section 13.1 of
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2 Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or Section 571 of Title 57 of the
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3 Oklahoma Statutes this title; and
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4 5. Has not been convicted of a crime that would require the
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5 person to be subject to the registration requirements of the Sex
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6 Offenders Registration Act.
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7 B. The authority to grant parole under Section 332.2 of Title
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8 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes this title shall rest with the Pardon
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9 and Parole Board.
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10 C. The Pardon and Parole Board shall use an evidence-based
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11 risk-assessment instrument to assess the public safety risk posed by
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12 aging prisoners upon release.
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13 D. Unless eligible for release at an earlier date, an aging
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14 prisoner who has been committed to the Department of Corrections for
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15 a term or terms of imprisonment shall have the ability to request a
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16 parole hearing before the Pardon and Parole Board if the prisoner
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17 has served, in actual custody, the shorter of:
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18 1. Ten (10) years of the term or terms of actual imprisonment;
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19 or
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20 2. One-third (1/3) of the total term or terms of imprisonment.
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21 E. Once a prisoner requests a parole hearing under subsection A
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22 of this section, the Pardon and Parole Board may place the prisoner
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23 on the next available docket.
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 1 F. The Pardon and Parole Board may grant parole to a prisoner
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2 if the Board finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the
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3 prisoner, if released, can live and remain at liberty without posing
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4 a substantial risk to public safety.
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5 G. The Pardon and Parole Board may use the selected evidence-
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6 based risk-assessment instrument to make the determination provided
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7 for in subsection F of this section.
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8 H. The Pardon and Parole Board may provide the prisoner the
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9 opportunity to speak on his or her own behalf and the option of
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10 having counsel present at the parole hearing.
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11 I. For purposes of this section:
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12 1. "Aging prisoner" means any person imprisoned by the
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13 Department of Corrections who is sixty (60) fifty-five (55) years of
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14 age or older; and
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15 2. "Evidence-based" means programs or practices that have been
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16 scientifically tested in controlled studies and proven to be
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17 effective.
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18 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
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20 58-1-1660 BG 12/21/2020 9:22:51 AM
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